The present invention generally relates to cosmetics, and more particularly relates to apparatus and methods for creating lipsticks.
When a person is desirous of purchasing cosmetics, he or she is often confronted with a time consuming and very often unsatisfactory process. Retail outlets often carry only a limited number of manufacturers and their product lines, and if a customer cannot find the particular shade or consistency of lipstick desired, he or she will be required to visit additional retail outlets in search of another manufacturer and its product line which may or may not provide the particular shade or consistency of lipstick desired. Even after finding an acceptable lipstick, it is often shortlived in that the manufacturer may discontinue production of the desired type.
Alternatively, the customer can resort to catalogs or other written material which will provide the customer with an expansive list of information and possibly the particular shade and consistency of lipstick desired. However, the shade as it appears in printed form on the advertisement may be quite different from the shade when worn and viewed in ambient lighting conditions as opposed to the printed conditions of the catalog.
Such a system is not only frustrating and unsatisfactory to the client, but can also be unsatisfactory to the retailer and manufacturer. The retailer is required to maintain an expansive line of lipstick in inventory which may or may not turn over in profitable fashion, which necessarily limits the retailer to carrying only the best selling lines, or most cost-effective lines. The retailer will therefore not be able to fully satisfy all the needs of his or her client base. From the manufacturer standpoint, such a system is unsatisfactory in the sense that its product lines will be only carried in a few retail outlets which necessarily limits the total client base to which the manufacturer can extend its goods.
Certain areas of the cosmetics industry have therefore recognized this deficiency in the current system and devised alternatives to more closely tailor cosmetic products to the specific desires of the given customer. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 5,031,764, issued to Meador, et al, discloses an apparatus for designing personalized perfume by providing a system of tapered strips along with a family of fragrances. An individual is therefore able to use the apparatus of Meador ""764 to design customized perfume or cologne in relatively quick fashion.
However, while systems such as the Meador ""764 patent do provide a system by which personalized perfumes and colognes can be created, no system currently exists to create personalized or specially tailored cosmetics corresponding to the exact demands of each customer, and more specifically to the focus of the present invention, no system or method currently exists to allow specific shades, consistencies and textures of lipsticks to be created based on the specific demands of each customer. It therefore follows that no system currently exists to allow for customized lipstick creation in a relatively short time frame, without relying on a system of ordering and waiting for delivery from an off-site warehouse.
It is therefore a primary aim of the present invention to provide an apparatus and method for custom blending lipstick to a desired shade, consistency and content, and fabricating the blended lipstick while the customer waits.
It is an objective of the present invention to provide a kit for use by cosmetic retailers which can be used to custom blend a particular shade and consistency of lipstick to the exact and immediate demands of the customers, and with which a conventional retractable lipstick case can be fabricated with the custom blended lipstick therein while the customer waits.
It is another objective of the present invention to provide a kit for personal use which can be used to custom blend lipstick at home or various other locations away from retail establishments.
It is another objective of the present invention to provide a kit which not only allows the specific color of the lipstick to be blended, but which also allows various additives, such as moisturizers, sunscreens, fragrances, and frostings, to be added to the resulting lipstick.
It is another objective of the present invention to provide a kit for creating custom blended lipstick which provides a means by which the exact portions of the various colored pigments, bases, and additives can be measured and recorded to allow for additional batches of lipstick to be created after a specific combination and recipe has been established.
It is still another objective of the present invention to provide a kit which allows the custom blended lipstick to be blended and manufactured in a matter of minutes.
It is still another objective of the present invention to provide a kit and method which allows for custom blending and fabrication of lipstick in a consistent and repeatable manner.
In accordance with these aims and objectives, the present invention is directed towards a kit for custom blending lip coloring products such as lipstick, lip gloss and the like to desired shade, texture, and content, either at home or in a retail store. The kit includes multiple containers of different pigments, at least one container of a suitable base, a means for measuring the pigments and/or bases, and a mold for receiving blended, heated and liquefied combination of pigments and bases. The kit is typically packaged together in a sellable package which can be used in either a retail store or a home. The size and variety of the containers of pigments and bases can be adapted to meet the particular consumer needs.
It is a feature of the present invention to provide a kit for custom blending lipstick to a desired shade, texture, and content, and fabricating the blended lipstick into a conventional lipstick case, wherein the kit includes a plurality of pigments, a plurality of bases, a means for measuring predetermined quantities of the pigments and bases, a blending sheet on which the measured quantities of pigments and bases can be mixed, a means for heating the desired blend into a liquefied form, a mold for receiving the liquefied blend and hardening the blend into a solid form, and a plurality of extendible and retractable lipstick cases adapted to receive the hardened lipstick.
It is another feature of the present invention to provide such a kit wherein the means for measuring is a planar sheet which includes a plurality differently sized segments onto which the pigments can be poured for exact measurement.
It is another feature of the present invention to provide such a kit wherein the blending sheet is a translucent sheet adapted to be positioned over the measurement sheet having the graduated segments. The graduated segments are visible through the translucent blending sheet to allow for simultaneous measuring and mixing of the pigments.
It is yet another feature of the present invention to provide such a kit wherein the mold includes a clam shell type housing adapted to be folded into mating orientation to form a plurality of cavities having the shape of a desired lipstick. The clam shell can be unfolded upon hardening of the lipstick for removal thereof, and is preferably manufactured from a metal to serve as an effective heat sink. In alternative embodiments, the mold can be made of other materials including plastic.
It is still another feature of the present invention to provide such a mold wherein each lipstick cavity is treated with a non-stick coating to facilitate removal of the hardened lipstick therefrom.
It is still another feature of the present invention to provide a method for custom blending and fabricating of lipstick to the personal specifications of each customer wherein the method comprises the steps of selecting, measuring, and mixing measured quantities of pigments to arrive at a desired shade, adding the desired shade of pigment blend to a particular base having the consistency of the desired lipstick, heating the desired pigments and bases to a liquefied form, pouring the liquefied pigment and bases into a mold having the shape of the desired lipstick, and affixing a lipstick case to the hardened lipstick upon removal from the mold.
These and other aims, objectives, and features of the present invention will become more apparent from the following detailed description when taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.